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James is a mixed traffic engine who mainly works on the Main Line. He is a very kind engine, and is always willing to go out of his way to help his friends if they are in need. However, James can also be rather overbearing at times, though he tends to not be aware of this when boasting to the other engines. Further to that, James can feel put out rather easily, which sometimes leads to him feeling upset. But despite all this, James always pulls through and has made many great friends.

But one day that all changed. One morning, Gordon had come down with a case of boilerache, so James had to take the Express in his place. “Fancy the Express being pulled by a splendid engine like me,” he said as he pulled out of the sheds. “Truly there’s no better engine for the job, I’m both really useful and easy on the eyes.” The other engines just rolled their eyes as James headed to the station, but he didn’t notice. James pulled the Express well, and was even a tad early when he arrived at Crovan’s Gate. “Well done, James,” said Skarloey. “You’re a fine stand-in for Gordon.” James was quite flattered by this. “Thank you, Skarloey,” he smiled. “Anything for Gordon until he gets better.” The guard then blew his whistle, and James puffed away. Over the next week, James and the other Main Line engines took it in turns to pull the Express while Gordon was at the Works.

They all worked hard, but James worked the hardest, for he knew how much the Express meant to Gordon, and wouldn’t dream of arriving late with it. One evening, about a week later, James was preparing for his nightly goods train outside of the sheds when he saw Gordon returning from the Works. “Good to see you back on your wheels, Gordon,” said Henry. “Good to be back, Henry,” smiled Gordon as he reversed into his berth. “I trust you and the twins took good care of the Express while I was away?” “Indeed we did, Gordon,” replied the big green engine proudly. Unknown to the others, James had overheard this, and was secretly offended by not just how Gordon had forgotten about him, but also how none of the other engines had corrected him on his mistake. But before he could say anything, his driver opened his regulator, and James had to head off to fetch his goods train.

As he headed along the line, James couldn’t stop thinking about how Gordon had forgotten about him. “That silly blue sausage! I worked harder than anyone else with the Express this week, and Gordon doesn’t even acknowledge I exist?” fumed James. “And how about that Henry? Didn’t he think to correct him? I work this hard and this is how I’m treated?” As James continued to brood on the event, an awful thought struck him. “Maybe they didn’t mention me because they don’t like me anymore…” James couldn’t sleep that night. He kept wondering about why Gordon and the others had forgotten about him. Was it because of him? Did his past behaviors warrant the others not wanting to be friends with him anymore? Did all the hard work he had done for the others matter at all? Was every attempt he had made at keeping a strong friendship fruitless for the simple reason that he was too ignorant to realize his flaws? Did he deserve any friends? Did he deserve anything?

As James continued to ponder on where he had gone wrong, he grew sadder and sadder. His thoughts kept him awake until morning, where he saw The Fat Controller approaching the sheds. “Good morning all, I have some news for you,” he began. “BoCo has to go to the Works for maintenance. He’ll be out of action for a week, so I need an engine to look after his goods work on Edward’s Branch Line until then. Any volunteers?” “I’ll do it, Sir,” said James quickly. The Fat Controller was surprised. “My, my, James, I’ve never seen you this eager for goods work. Are you feeling alright?” “Just ready to help, Sir,” replied James. “Very well, James,” said The Fat Controller, still a bit perplexed. “You can start by taking BoCo’s morning goods to Wellsworth.” “Yes, Sir,” said James, and headed off to fetch BoCo’s train. Now, James doesn’t like pulling goods trains at all, but he figured that a trip to Edward’s Branch Line would be a great way to take his mind off of last night’s events. Besides, James thought, Edward had always been helpful before, maybe he could help out here. Soon, James arrived at Wellsworth with his goods train. Edward was waiting at the platform with his passenger train. “Hello, James,” he smiled. “Nice to see you here. I take it you’re filling in for BoCo?” “Indeed I am,” replied James. “It’ll be nice to get away from the bustle of the Main Line for a bit.” “Well, I’m glad you’re here,” said Edward. “I’ve got to be on my way, but the yardmaster will fill you in!” With that, Edward headed off for Tidmouth. James smiled to himself. “Yes,” he thought. “This’ll be nice.”

James was soon heading down to Brendam with his next goods train. The bright sun and gentle breeze had raised his spirits a tad, and even the trucks weren’t giving him any trouble. By the time James reached Brendam, he was feeling better about the whole situation. However, that wasn’t to last. About a half hour later, James arrived back at Wellsworth with another goods train. He was about to sort out his trucks when he heard Henry’s whistle in the distance. A moment later, he pulled into view, commuter train in tow. “James?” he exclaimed, a bit surprised to see him. “What’re you doing here?” “I’m looking after BoCo’s duties while he’s at the Works,” replied James. “Didn’t you hear The Fat Controller this morning?” Henry thought for a moment. “I suppose not,” he said. “I didn’t even notice you were gone, if I’m honest. Anyway, must be off. Bye, James.” And Henry headed off, leaving James feeling just as upset as he was that morning. “He didn’t even notice I was gone…” said James solemnly. Crushed, he went back to work without another word.

Throughout the rest of the day, whenever James saw one of the Main Line engines, their reaction was just the same as Henry’s. None of them seemed to notice he was gone, and none of them seemed apologetic about it. To make matters worse, whenever one of them saw James again, they didn’t even whistle a hello, even if James did so first. As the day went on, James just continued to feel worse and worse, and when it came time for his last train, James was almost broken. “What’s the point of going back if I’m just going to be ignored forever?” he thought sadly. But as much as James wanted an answer, he didn’t bother asking the question aloud.

A few minutes later, James was heading towards Tidmouth with his final run of the day. As he travelled down the line, he began thinking about what he would say to Gordon the next time they met. As James arrived at Tidmouth, he looked all around for Gordon. The big engine usually pulled the night Express around this hour, and James wanted to give him a good talking to before he left. But James did see Gordon, and something else that made his heart sink. Gordon, Henry, Donald, and Douglas were all sitting in the station, having a great time as though nothing had happened. None of them even took notice of James. They just continued to have a great time without him, as though his absence didn’t matter. For James, that was enough. He left Tidmouth feeling worse than he had ever felt - for the first time in his life, he truly felt alone. James stayed quiet that night. He wanted to talk to Edward about his problem but the ordeal from earlier made him scared to do so, out of fear that Edward would ignore him as well. James didn’t say anything the next day either. Any time he saw an engine from the Main Line he would just look away, determined not to acknowledge them. After a few days of this, Edward began to take notice of James’ unusual behavior, and wondered what the problem was. He decided to ask James about it that night.

After another day of debilitating silence, James backed into Wellsworth Sheds, where Edward was waiting. “Good evening, James,” smiled the old engine. “Hi, Edward,” replied James hastily, his eyes still facing away. “Is something the matter, James?” asked Edward. James tried to think up an excuse. “It’s alright, I won’t be mad,” comforted Edward. “Please, James, what’s upsetting you?” And James began to cry, telling Edward everything that had happened over the past few days. “...and I just don’t think they consider me their friend anymore,” finished James through tear-filled eyes. “Oh my,” said Edward. “I’m sorry you had to experience that, James. Is there anything I can do for you?” “Just keep the others away from me until they realize their mistakes,” replied James firmly. “Now, James,” began Edward, “I know you’re upset at the others because they didn’t acknowledge you. But if they don’t know that what they did was wrong, how can you expect them to apologize to you? You’ll have to talk to all of them about what made you upset.” “But I can’t do that!” exclaimed James. “What if they all laugh at me or say I’m being too sensitive? Or what if they just lie to get out of trouble with me?” “And what if they don’t do any of that?” asked Edward. “What makes you so confident?” retorted James. “Because I know those engines well enough to know that they’ll say sorry and be honest about it, James,” replied Edward. “But if they don’t, then they’re not your friends, plain and simple. Why bother spending time with engines that just make you feel more alone than when you’re by yourself?” James hesitated, and thought for a moment. “I suppose you have a point, Edward,” he admitted. “But if they do laugh - ” “Then I’ll be here for you, James,” smiled Edward reassuringly. “I’d never stop being your friend.” And for the first time in nearly a week, James managed a little smile. “Thank you, Edward,” he said, sounding just a bit happier. “You’re welcome, James,” replied the old engine. “Now go and get some sleep. You’ve had a long day.” And soon, James was fast asleep, leaving Edward to wonder if the others would actually apologize or not.

The next morning, James awoke to find his first goods train waiting for him in the yard. James knee what that meant. “Well, here goes nothing,” he said to himself, and puffed out of the shed, feeling rather anxious. Soon, James was heading down the Main Line towards Tidmouth, but he couldn’t focus. He was still thinking about what he would say to the others, and more importantly, if they would listen to what he had to say at all. James was still thinking when he arrived at Tidmouth, and wasn’t really paying attention to the red signal. Suddenly, James found himself crossing over into a siding, and a set of buffers lay just ahead! His driver applied the brakes, but James was going too fast to prevent an accident. He hit the buffers with a jolt, and his front came off the rails. “Goodness me, James!” came a voice from the station platform. It was Gordon, who was waiting to depart with the Express. “Are you alright?” “Oh, so now you acknowledge I exist?” snapped James. “Not when you returned from the Works?” “What are you talking about?” asked Gordon, rather puzzled. James hesitated for a moment, but then remembered what Edward had said. “When you returned from the Works,” continued James, and he explained everything. When he had finished, Gordon felt rather upset. “Well, James,” began the big engine slowly, “I don’t really know what to say other than... I’m sorry for how I treated you these past few days. I can’t speak for the others, but I can say that it wasn’t very professional of me to act the way I did. You are a valuable asset to this railway and I can say that without you, we’ve been feeling the burden of not having you around. Is there anything I can do for you?” James didn’t reply immediately. He was still taking in what Gordon had said. “Just make sure the others speak for themselves,” James answered curtly. “Certainly, James,” said Gordon, and he headed off with the Express, leaving James feeling just a bit better.

James was soon feeling back to his old self by the time Duck arrived with the breakdown train. James hadn’t been damaged in the accident, and after a quick trip to the Works, he was back to work on Edward’s Branch Line the same day. That night in Wellsworth Sheds, James couldn’t stop smiling to himself. Even Edward had to admit he’d never seen James this happy. “Didn’t I tell you they would say sorry?” he smiled. James didn’t say anything. He was just so relieved and excited that he fell asleep at once. A few days later, BoCo returned from the Works, and James had to return to his Main Line duties. Although he was a bit upset to be leaving Edward’s Branch Line, he was more happy to get back to his old friends. When James arrived at Tidmouth Sheds, a big welcome awaited him. Gordon, Henry, Donald, and Douglas were all there, and they all blew their whistles when James came into view. James was so happy that he couldn’t help but blush a deep shade of red. That night, apologies were made and laughs were had, and as James settled down for the night, he couldn’t help but think back to what Edward had said. Yes, he thought, they were his friends, and when he was with them, he never felt less alone in all his life."

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